Taken Over (Book 2 The Ravening Series) (20 page)

   This was it; this was the way it was all going to end. I didn’t find peace
in that thought
, my life did not flash before my eyes
, and I did not feel terror
. All I could see was the bright lights popping before
me
,
and
all I could feel was
the
excruciating pain. A pain so intense that I felt as if I were being ripped apart from the inside out
;
f
elt as if I were being flayed alive and stripped to the very bone.
I wanted to scream, wanted to let all the pain out but
I couldn’t.
I
felt as if I were
being wrapped within a spider’s cocoon
,
and encased to the point that motion and sound were
no longer
possible
as the spider exsanguinated me
.

  
My
release
came so
suddenly
that I didn’t even recognize it for what it was, even as I tumbled back
.
Normal f
eeling and sound came
rushing
back to me as I bounced off the road
, bruising my elbows and tailbone
. The hard, unforgiving asphalt felt like a cushion
of bliss
after what I had just experienced. The hard pop of guns slammed into my ears, causing me to wince in pain as
normal sound
blazed back into my
tortured
ears. I gasped, rolled over, tried to get up but found that my weak, wobbly legs would not support my weight.

   “Grab her!” I heard Lloyd shout over the raining clatter of gunfire.

   Hands ensnared my
good
arm
;
the
other
one h
u
ng uselessly against my side. “I’m sorry about this.”

   Before I could question what Bret was sorry for, he heaved me up and tossed me over his shoulder. I groaned as my wounded shoulder protested
the movement
, but
even
this small measure of pain was nothing compared to what I had just gone through. I bit my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, but I did not wince at the sharp, fleeting
sting
. Bret broke into a brisk jog as he hurried down the street with me.

   “The gunfire will draw them here. We need to get away
. Now,
” Lloyd commanded
hurriedly
.

  
I could not see him as I bounced against Bret’s back, but his boots came momentarily into view as he crossed
the road
behind Bret.
I could feel pain, normal pain,
stealing
through my body. My shoulder ached;
there was
blood seeping down my arm. I knew that it was dripping off of me, but I couldn’t see it landing on the dark
street
.
T
he shock
was slowly wearing off
and I was beginning to
realize that
I
was now
a huge liability to them.

   Not only was
I dead weight,
but I was also easily track
ed
.

   “Bret put me down,” I managed to mutter through the bouncing impact of every step he made as we plummeted into the woods. “Bret…”

  
“You can’t walk.”

  
“I’m bleeding all over the place
, they’ll find us
.”

   Lloyd’s boots reappeared beneath my bouncing head. I could barely see through the jarring impact that every step caused. “Stop,” Lloyd comma
nded. I felt his hands upon me as he helped to lift me from Bret’s back. “We have to staunch th
e wound
.”

   I felt slightly dizzy
,
and a little woozy
,
as they lowered me to the ground. Jenna was staring in wide eyed horror as Lloyd pulled the sleeve of my shirt down, baring my collarbone. I strained to see the wound,
and
then wished that I hadn’t. It was
a
disgusting,
gaping mess of mottled flesh
,
bone
, and blood
. Even in the dark I could see the bruising that marred my skin and
was spreading
across my chest and
down my arm.
My veins were clearly visible against my unnaturally pale skin.

   “
The shoulder’
s dislocated,” Lloyd mumbled. “We have to get
it
back into place before we can cauterize the wound.”

   “Before we
what
?” Bret demanded as my mouth dropped
in horror
.

   I wanted to squirm away from them, wanted to pull out of their hold but
my strength was waning, my head was spinning, and I wasn’t sure I
had the strength to
fight off a gnat right now. Lloyd gave Bret a fierce look before shaking his head slightly. “It’s the only way,” he muttered.

   “
Stitches
…”

   “Do you have a needle and thread?
” Lloyd demanded fiercely. His jaw was
clenched tight, it was obvious that he did not want to do this either, but he
would
be the one.

   “What about infection, pain.”

  “
Penicillin…”

   “Allergic,” I managed to grate out b
etween my suddenly chattering teeth.

   “Good to know.
” Lloyd dug in
to
his pack
, rooting around as he searched
for something.
“We’ll find something for you, but we can’t wait to stitch it. They’ll
track that blood…”

   “I know.” I was trying to sound brave, but my weak tone and trembling body gave me away. “Fine.” I swallowed heavily trying to wet my parched throat. “I’ll be fine.”

   “Are you cold?” Jenna demanded, kneeling by my side.

   “She’s in shock.” Lloyd turned back to me, and though his face was hard there was kindness and worry in his sky colored eyes. “And if we don’t stop the flow…”

   “I
’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Jenna gushed. “You told me, you
all
told me, but he just looked so real, so
helpless
. I really am sorry Bethy, if I had known…”

   “It’s ok,” I chattered out unable to stand her
guilt. “Not your fault.”

   “But it is!” she gushed leaning closer to me.

   “
You have to move back.” Lloyd shouldered Jenna out of the way as he knelt before me. “Bite on this.” Before I could react he shoved a rag into my mouth. I choked in surprise and tried to spit it out but he held it firmly in place. “This is going to hurt and you
can
n
ot
scream.
The scent of y
our blood is already a big enough draw without adding to it. Bite Bethany.”

   After what I had just experienced
,
with that
thing
,
I was fairly
certain that nothing could truly hurt again
.
B
ut
to be fair,
if I had been able to scream
when it had a hold of me,
I would have shredded my vocal cords
with my agony
. I didn’t know if I could keep back a cry of pain now. I stopped fighting against the gag, closed my eyes and bit down hard as Lloyd seized
hold of my wounded shoulder.

   “What are you…?”

   Bret’s question was cut off as Lloyd jerked sharply on my shoulder. A loud snap
, much like a bat hitting a ball,
split the air
as my shoulder was wrenched painfully back into place.
I cried out against the gag, unable to keep the sound suppressed
.
T
hankfully
,
the gag did.
A wave of blackness washed over me,
nausea surged up my throat as
I teetered on the edge of passing out.

   “Some warning would have been nice,” Bret snarled.

   “There is no time for niceties.” My eyes rolled slightly, I wanted the
foul tasting
gag out of my mouth, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not yet anyway.
Lloyd was kneeling before me. “The shirt has to come off.”

   My eyes widened
,
the last thing I was going to be able to do was lift my arm at this moment. Bret started to protest as Lloyd brandished a knife and slit the front of my shirt deftly open. Bret’s face flamed red as he turned hastily away, but Lloyd remained analytical and distant as he tugged the tattered remains
of clothing
from my wounded
and beaten
body.

   There was a time when I would have been just as red as Bret, but not anymore. Now I didn’t care that the only thing covering me was a bra, a bra that
was white, tattered, and dirty.
Mode
sty was something I didn’t give much thought to anymore
, and though I wasn’t about to go wandering around nude, this bit of skin wasn’t going to affect me even a little.

   Lloyd’s hand rested on my good shoulder, his gaze was intent on me.
I blinked as I tried to bring his face into focus.
“This is going to hurt Bethany.” I nodded,
had anything felt good in the past half an hour? I was
certain that I could take t
his
, certain that I could take any
thing
after
what that
thing
had inflicted upon me.
“Scream if you need to.”

   My eyes widened as Lloyd turned away and pulled a long lighter from his bag. “What are you doing?” Jenna asked tremulously.